Unmistakably Chosen
by Daydreaming Faerie
Summary: Finally gone home for winter vacation after tiring finals. It had been a tedious day, like all the rest. Dahlia plopped onto her bed, and decided to play her favorite video game: Halo 3. Ever since she was a child, she'd love to play this game. But what will she do when it is revealed that she's a reincarnation of a Forerunner, knowledgeable of the Halo Universe as this person?
1. Prologue: Home for the Winter

_I was accustomed to calling out for my brother to help me when the battle proved too difficult for me. That was then, now I am older, and I can't depend on anyone for help. But now, when the time comes again where I cannot fight it alone, I know that this time, someone will **always** have my back._

* * *

I yawned as I stretched out of bed, waking up on the first day of winter vacation. My cat, sensing my movements, also woke up and stretched. I smiled, and greeted her. After a long six hours of sleep, I notice I had a dull taste in my mouth, which grossed me out. I sigh, too cold and lazy to use the restroom, but my needs overpowered me. I finally get up after five minutes of struggling to go back to sleep.

I sat there for a moment, trying my best to recall my dream. I could only remember certain scenes, but after a while I was able to piece them all together.

 _I was 8-years-old, sitting behind my brother, eating a hotdog. I watched the T.V., seeing the night sky twinkling with dozens of stars. There was something falling from the sky, leaving a trail of smoke that blended in with the darkness. A female voice began to speak, talking about something I knew only too well. Suddenly something broke away from the blaze, and steered toward a different direction._

 _"But you had something they didn't. Something that no one saw, but me... Can you guess?"_

 _I jumped as the object crashed, its sound blaring through the speakers._

 _"Luck."_

 _The trees and the surrounding brush were lit for a moment, then consumed by darkness once again._

 _"Was I wrong?"_

I grinned as I remembered the moment I first witnessed the beginning of the Halo 3 campaign. So many memories were made, and it all left me familiar with every little bit the game. Many years have gone by since then. This year had been its 10th anniversary, but with the series overtaken by a different company, the meaning of Halo was lost by them.

I started to shuffle over to the bathroom, without bothering to turn on my lamp. This would be a regrettable choice, because I would stub my toe against something and send whatever I had accidentally sliding across the floor. I cursed, bent over to blindly reach for the item on the floor, and with luck, was able to immediately find it. It was cold, but I still wasn't sure what it was. I turned on my bedside lamp, and realized it was my _Halo 5: Guardians_ case. It had been left untouched ever since this semester of school had started.

Remembering how lackluster the storyline it was, I carelessly threw it aside. As I examined the rest of my room, I noticed my collection of the _Halo_ series in my pile of Xbox 360 games; I smiled at the memories of playing with my older sibling, and a boy from school that had been my crush.

But it was so long since I had played any of the Halo games, I decided to have a _Halo_ marathon. But all of that was to come after a hearty breakfast.

I set the timer on the toaster, then proceeded to the fridge to make myself some chocolate milk as a treat. Throughout this, I noticed the silence throughout the house. My heart sunk at the thought of being entirely alone.

 _'Don't be surprised, Dahlia. They always do this.'_

I breathed in sharply, and exhaled. Then, I walked over to the window, wondering if my parents have really left me alone. I frowned when I saw that my parent's car was gone. I huffed, then made sure to lock every single window and door in the house.

Ever since my dad got his new girlfriend, he hasn't been around as much. I always chalked it up to the fact that since I was older now, he thought I would be fine by myself. I was my brother's sister, after all. But it didn't mean I was perfect like him; it was something everyone knew. The ding from the toaster brought me back to reality. I put it away, then smothered both slices of bread with jam. I decided to eat at the dining table for once, since no one was around.

As I sat down and ate, I went back to lamenting about my family. I wondered what my dad would do if he knew the things my brother did, and all of his vices. He was always such a good kid, but was involved in drugs like everyone else. But his goody two shoes always somehow managed to fool even someone the likes of our dad. But I guessed I should be thankful that my brother had a least some sense of morality, because he has never offered me any.

I wished I had at least someone to talk to all about this. But unfortunately, my crush and I drifted away, my once two best friends had homeschool, and the other became a person I didn't even recognize. Another friend left me for dead once her best friend just happened to also share the same classes we both had. Now I'm stuck listening to their mindless chatter and annoying giggles. Life was harsh; even my counselor didn't seem to take my problems seriously. She always laughed everything off, and I just felt as if she was only belittling me. It was times like these where I wished I didn't feel emotions like the way spartans didn't.

I sighed, and stared at my glass of milk. The chocolate had settled at the bottom of the cup, and I was slightly disgusted. I placed my dishes in the sink, and headed upstairs. I didn't even make it to the first step when I heard a knocking on the front door. I stiffened, staring at the door. I glanced a the windows near the door, examining the curtains so the stranger couldn't see through them.

Seeing as they were all blocking any hint of sunlight, I snuck over to the door.

 _'Why would anyone come over at 7a.m.?'_

I looked through the peephole on the door.

There stood an aged woman, with silver hair, shrouded in a luxurious white coat. She appeared somewhat familiar, despite that I didn't recall ever meeting anyone like her before. She looked back, and knocked harder.

I jumped, and hurriedly tiptoed up the stairs.

Once I was in my room, I locked my door. My cat eyed me lazily, unaffected by the knocking downstairs.

I'm such a scaredy cat, I realized. Here I was, spooked by an old lady probably knocking on the wrong house. Meanwhile, Master Chief has to fight aliens twice his size. How could I ever wish to belong in a universe stuck in a violent war with aliens if I'm intimidated by some old hag? I shrugged at the thought.

For a moment, I wondered what it was like to have meaning to your life, to fight with a purpose. How I have wished all these years to be at John's side, as an ally.

I sat down on my bed, staring at the blank T.V. for a moment, seeing my reflection. Still dressed in my outfit from yesterday. I shivered, and grabbed the jacket I had thrown off yesterday. I grabbed for my Xbox controller, turning on the console, then the T.V. I popped in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the game already downloaded for when I decided I was ready to continue on campaign once again.

* * *

After playing for hours on different games when I was too frustrated with Legendary difficulty on CEA and ODST, then too frustrated with the final quest of Dragon Age: Inquisition, I knew now at 12 o'clock at midnight, was the best time to begin my childhood favorite, Halo 3.

The familiar tune of the theme song felt so satisfying, I didn't notice my weariness. I sang along as I chose only three skulls: IWHBYD, Cow Bell, and Grunt Birthday Party.

I was so tired from my finals, and sleeping early due to my tests, I lied on my bed for a bit, staring at my T.V.

Resting for only a minute, until the game loaded. Resting for a few more seconds, until the beep resounded through my headphones. Resting for a few more seconds, as Cortana begins her dialogue of Chief. Resting until the explosion sound of Chief landing in the jungle woke me up...


	2. Chapter One: Join the Fight

Something felt wrong. Where I laid, wasn't comfortable. Hard, pokey, and wet. _Why?_ Had I fallen off my bed, and dropped my cup of water, along with my dog's toys?

I slowly opened one eye, completely shocked by my surroundings; green foliage everywhere, trees, low and high.

 _'Am I dreaming?'_

I was still shocked, but managed to slowly get up, and off the ground.

 _'Most definitely dreaming.'_

I still wore my outfit from Friday, the day before. A cozy over-sized letterman jacket, a matching navy blue pleated skirt, and a pair of sneakers. I noticed my headphones now hung around my neck, instead of on my head.

 _'Where the Hell am I?'_

I heard a somewhat familiar voice speak. I stood still, and listened closely... It sounded like...

 _ **'Sargeant Johnson?'**_

"We're not leaving him here." His stern voice said.

'Wait, if Sargeant Johnson just said that, and this is supposed to be mission Sierra 117, doesn't that mean-'

"Yeah, you're not." A gruff voice agreed. My eyes widened, and I covered my mouth to prevent from gasping loudly.

"Crazy fool. Why do you always jump? One of these days, you're gonna land on something as stubborn as you are. And I don't do bits and pieces." I watched in awe at the opening scene play out in front of me. Chief still held onto Johnson's arm, the one with the hand holding Cortana's chip.

"Where is she Chief? Where is Cortana?" Johnson looked up at Chief, perhaps wondering why he stared at the chip. I knew at this part Chief remembers one of the last things she said to him: "Don't make a girl a promise, if you know you can't keep it."

After a moment, Chief finally places the chip back inside his helmet, saying, "She stayed behind."

"Corporal? Make it quick." Johnson commanded, as a marine jumped to him. "Sorry sir. Your armor's still in partial lockdown." The marine apologized. After a quick test. Chief looks up, behind Johnson. He notices an invisible figure moving. Without wasting time, Chief grabs a magnum from Johnson, pushed his way past the marines, and held the weapon tightly against the Arbiter's jaw.

"Chief wait! The Arbiter is with us!" Johnson warned.

"Come on now. Got enough to worry about without you two trying kill each other." I giggled at his scolding of the super solider.

The Arbiter adjusts his mandibles. "Were it so easy." He said. Chief let go of his grip on him, irritated.

"We must go, the brutes have our scent."

"They must love the smell of badass." Johnson replied, handing Chief an assault rifle. Chief swipes it out of his grasp, causing me to giggle again. Unfortunately, I forgot to cover my mouth, so once I finished, _everyone_ turned, and pointed their guns at my direction. I felt uneasy, slowly backing away.

"The Hell was that?" One marine asked.

"Are these jungles haunted?" Another questioned.

I backed up, as much as I could. I eventually hit a large boulder. I exhaled through my nose, disappointed with the dream.

 _'Great. I'm going to get shot and wake up.'_

I slid down onto the ground, placing my forehead on my knees, arms wrapping around my legs.

 _'Any moment now.'_

"Who are you?" The gruff voice I loved asked.

"I'm just a girl, about to wake up from her dream." I said.

"Where did you come from? Are you lost?" He asked.

"I'm from a different universe, I'm sure." I sighed, knowing Chief saw ordinary humans as a burden, those he cannot count on, seen as those he must protect.

I looked up at him, stretching out my legs. He seemed a bit puzzled, even if I couldn't see his face.

"We are on Earth. The year is 2552, and the humans are currently at war with the Covenant. Are you aware of that?"

I waved him off. "Yeah yeah. We're in Africa, you just crash landed after delivering an explosion, you have to get back to base, then Tsavo Highway, and that Storm mission." Chief was completely taken aback as he lowered his rifle, but didn't entirely let his guard down. He aimed at me again.

"How do you know all of this?" I blinked at him.

"Isn't this a dream?"

"No, kid. This is real."

"No way. I was on my bed, and fell asleep. I'll wake up any moment now." I had hoped. "Shoot me."

Chief never let his gaze go of me. "No. You're coming with us." For a moment, I contemplated this. I wanted nothing more than to prove myself this was nothing but a dream. I'll wake up to my dog sleeping with me. I glanced at the direction the Arbiter was heading, and made the quickest decision ever; I darted to the right, running from Master Chief. Foolish, but everything felt way too realistic than any other dream I've had. Running usually felt like I was stuck in place, my vision distorted, unable to see with an eye, or just plain blurred.

I heard the Chief call out for me, but I continued the familiar path. I ran through the large shallow pond, jumped up the rocks, pushing tall plants out of my face. I skidded to a stop once I arrived at the river, knowing this was where the brute commands his grunts to spread out and find them.

I braced myself, remembering this had to be a dream. Then, leapt forward. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as I landed on my knees in the water, looking up to the five-foot grunts. The brute screamed in the background. One of the grunts fumbled with his weapon, pointed straight at me, and I wondered why I felt so afraid, as if it would _hurt_ me.

I closed my eyes shut, preparing to awake with a start. I wonder why nothing has happened, so I open my eyes, only to see that John is right in front of me, effortlessly killing the grunts one by one with single head shots, then kills their brute leader. He turns back to me, slinging his assault rifle onto his shoulder. He easily towered over me at seven feet and two inches.

"Johnson and his scouts have left; you're my responsibility now." He said. I frowned.

"I'm _your_ responsibility?"

He nodded. "Yes." I rolled my eyes, knowing there was a long trek ahead if us. "Can I at least have a weapon?" I attempted to persuade with meek smile.

"Do you have any experience with a weapon?" He asked.

"Kinda..?" I squinted my eyes at him. His reflective helmet couldn't prevent me from seeing his feeling of being unimpressed.

"I can't totally rely on you and your marines to protect me as you fight off the Covenant-" Chief threw me a magnum, and I was utterly amazed by the gun when I caught it. I stared at it, the functional Halo weapon in my hands. Chief simply walked away after this, and I heard the screams from grunts and jackels as his fire-team engaged.

* * *

The entire time, I had been less than helpful. Of course, I had little to no experience with any guns, as I've only ever shot with a BB gun, less an actual pistol or whatever. The recoil was much stronger than I could have expected, whenever I thought I was pointing straight an enemy, I tended to lose my footing once I shot, and land on the grass underneath me.

I had always fought in the perspective of a spartan, so killing the lesser enemies was child's play. But now, instead of killing grunts with two melees, I squeal and run away; the damned things were as tall as me!

This lead to me often taking cover behind Chief, the Arbiter, or the two marines. Honestly, I felt pathetic, and useless. I was the Master Chief, protecting my men, making sure every single one survived; now, I was making sure _I'm_ alive.

This was insane. But, we have finally made it near the end of the mission, where Chief rescues Johnson and his men. I smiled once again, seeing the one-sided cut scenes play out before me. It was so magical, in a sense. Seeing my two favorite characters in front of me.

Obviously, when I went to go retrieve ammunition from the crashed pelican, Chief questioned me. I said I was grabbing ammo, and handed him a battle rifle, since I knew he was low by now. He was mystified when I told him I'd explain on the way back to base of how I seemed to know almost everything. But I still had trouble convincing him to allow me to use a sniper rifle. And Unfortunately, I didn't get my way. I was simply handed ammunition for my magnum, but I didn't fight it.

Chief had already jumped off the little cliff we had stood on, and suppressed fire. Everyone else jumped down too, except for me. Too many close encounters of getting shot in major parts of the body, so I was told to stay behind, where it was safe. Whatever. Totally don't care. At least this has given me the opportunity to watch Chief easily kill every single one of his enemies. Training from the age of six really did pay off, even if the price he payed was unbeknownst to him.

I heard the brute chieftain screaming, causing me to wince. I had always been afraid of them, one swing from that gravity would instantly kill me, as myself, and possibly the Chief, too. But it was nice seeming him entirely, instead of through his visor in first person mode. Also nice seeing he didn't cower in fear of the brute. At this point, it was starting to grow difficult to see Chief and his squad. Everyone around me was dead, so it seemed safe.

I carefully made my way down the rocks, and once I landed on cement, I heard a clacking noise. I looked down to investigate, and saw it had been my phone. Luckily, it was at full charge since I had rarely used it when playing Halo, and I turned off the wi-fi and sound to concentrate. I wondered if my parents noticed I was missing; I turned my phone on, only to see I didn't have any new messages or missed calls, my lock screen only revealing to me my pastel wallpaper. I had the urge to throw it into the water, but I opted for angrily stuffing it back in my pocket, and tightening my grip around the magnum.

I walked up the steps, looking inside the abandoned building. Ahead of me was Chief now walking away from the dead chieftain, and shooting the grunts in the other part of the area. I sighed, knowing I missed John being a total badass. I climbed up the ladder within the building anyways, my haven when I got up the ladder to kill the chieftain from above. I also had a habit of breaking the windows just because I felt like it. I stared out of the window, seeing John enter the small building where Johnson was kept. My eyes focused again on the glass window. In-game, I could break the window by meleeing it. How much of my _actual_ strength would it take to break it down?

I bit my lip, breathed, and kicked the window as hard as I could. I was awarded with a dull _thunk_ for my efforts.

"Oh, come on!" I complained. In my peripheral vision, I noticed small things move. I looked, realizing I had caught the attention of the brute captain that had just been dropped off. "Oh crap." I cursed, and ducked down just as plasma shots broke through the windows, glass raining on me. I didn't dare move, afraid to cut myself, and afraid to see if the brute was coming after me. I heard a beam rifle, and the sound of a brute gurgling as he died, soon followed by rapid fire of a carbine.

Once all of the commotion had ended, I opened my eyes, and carefully got to my feet. I heard the sound of a phantom still lingering in the air. I wondered why it had stayed there, instead of fleeing away like they usually did after dropping off aliens. I heard heavy footsteps below me, catching my attention. Another brute captain with a small army of grunts. The brute's power armor was shot off, and then fell down as blood splattered out of his forehead from a headshot. The grunts stood still for a moment, then began to run away. Their efforts of evasion were futile, though, because they were shot down too. Now, all that remained were the phantoms. I slid down the ladder, carefully taking cover as I took a peek at one of them.

The game did no justice to the shiny purple gleam of the alien spacecraft; it was beautiful, in the way shiny alien ships were. But I heard a strange familiar sound, my eyes widening when I realized it was the sound a phantom made when it was about to explode, then took cover in the ledge of the wall where I hid. I heard a loud explosion, and felt the force of it as the old building shook. The other phanom soon combusted as well. The pelican hovered near the bridge for everyone to get on. I felt timid, for the millionth time today. I knew I was an unexpected passenger for the ship, and the whole mission in general.

Everyone hopped on, Chief waiting for me to get on, as well. I swallowed nervously. I struggled to climb on for a bit, but I managed. Chief followed after me. The ship gained elevation, and flew off. I held tightly to the bars above the seats, afraid of falling out. I felt as if I was being watched, turning my head to the right. Chief stood there, making me nervous.

"Talk." Was all he said. I looked back to the scenery, only to see the back was now closed. I sat down, and began.

"First of all, I'm not even from this era, if you couldn't tell from my outfit. I was born in the year 2000, living in the ending of the year 2017. I was home alone, playing video games. Halo, to be specific." John was intrigued the moment I said Halo.

"You were playing video games called Halo?" He asked.

"Yes, and they _are_ named Halo after the Halo Rings the Forerunners created." John now got on one knee, eye contact now leveled.

"What are the Halo games about, exactly?"

* * *

After explaining every title of every Halo game (with the exception of Halo 3, and the games that are chronologically after them), we landed at the Crow's Nest. John jumped out, and so did I. I looked to my left, to see the marine who alerted his friend that a spartan had arrived. Miranda walked down the stairs, Johnson saluting her.

"Where did you find him?" She asked.

"Napping, out back."

"Hmm, I'll bet." She replied with a grin. She stuck her hand out in front of her, and Chief shook it.

"Good to see you Chief." She stated.

"Likewise, Ma'am."

She opened up her mouth to speak, but as she turned to walk away, her eyes spotted me. She turned back, with a confused expression.

"And who is this?" She wondered. I attempted to reply, but was unable to find my voice.

"We found her near Chief's crash site." Johnson answered. "She isn't even from our time, but she knows about Halo. Even more than we do." Miranda cocked a brow.

"Really? Can you help us?"

"I'll do the best I can." She nodded, and continued what she meant to do in the first place.

"The Prophet of Truth's ships breached the lunar perimeter, smashed what was left of the Home Fleet." She began to tell Chief. Two marines were walking, and made way for us, saluting. Once the humans passed, they dropped their hands, and gawked at the Arbiter. I laughed to myself. "Terrestrial casualties from the subsequent bombardment were..." she trailed off as medics rushed a guy through the hallway.

"Extreme. Truth could have landed anywhere, but he committed all his forces here: East Africa, the ruins of New Mombasa. Then, they started digging." She continued walking.

"What about Halo?" Chief asked.

"We stopped it, but only temporarily. Now, the Prophet of Truth is looking for something called 'The Ark', where he'll be able to fire all the Halo Rings. If he succeeds, humanity, the Covenant, every sentient being in the Galaxy..."

"The rings will kill us all." Chief concluded.

"Hopefully our new friend here can help us." She looked to me.

"Ma'am, I have Lord Hood." Someone said, catching our attention.

"Patch him through." Miranda affirmed.

Lord Hood immediately appeared on the largest screen. "Good news, Captain Keyes?"

"As good as it gets, sir."

"So I see." He acknowledged, noting Master Chief.

"What's your status, son?"

"Green, sir."

"Glad to hear it. The Commander's come up with a good plan. Without you, I wasn't sure if we could pull it off." Hood admitted.

"Truth's ships are clustered above the excavation site, and his infantry has deployed anti-aircraft batteries around the perimeter. But, if we neutralize one of the batteries, punch a hole in Truth's defenses," She said confidently.

Hood removed his hand off his chin. "I'll initiate a low-level strike. Hit 'em right where it hurts." He paused momentarily. "I only have a handful of ships, Master Chief. It's a big risk, but I'm confident-" the power cuts him off.

"Hell, not again." a young man's voice complained.

"Emergency generators, now." Miranda urged.

"Shielding failed, they're down and charging." Someone answered.

"As soon as they're up, re-establish contact with Lord Hood. Let him know-"

"You are," The Prophet of Truth interrupted, the screen giving light to the room. "All of you, vermin. Cowering in the dirt, thinking what, I wonder. That you might escape the coming fire? No, your world will burn, until the surface is but glass." I noticed the Arbiter walked closer, now standing next to Chief. "And not even your _demon_ will live to creep, blackened from its hole to mar the reflection of our passage. The culmination of our journey, for your destruction, is the will of the Gods." He said aggressively. "And I? I _am_ their instrument." He made a fist as he said that. The screen faded to black, and the power resumed.

"Cocky bastard, just loves to run his mouth." Johnson said fluently, with a cigar in his mouth.

"Does he usually mention me?" Chief asked.

Miranda continued giving orders, while I tried to shake off how freaked out I felt from seeing Truth's message. Despite the number of times I've seen it in-game, the real thing can never compare. When I finally cleared my head, I heard a guy to my right notify Miranda, "Ma'am, squad leaders are requesting a rally point. Where should they go?"

I saw Miranda walking up the steps, pauses, pulling the slide of her magnum, and respond, "To war."


	3. Chapter Two: Who You Are

Master Chief was given orders to go secure the perimeter with the marines. Instinctively, I followed after. But as soon as we were going down the steps, he turns to me.

"Where do _you_ think you're going?" He asked. I looked at him quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not suitable for this at all."

"Didn't you hear me in the pelican? I _know_ what happens, Chief." I crossed my arms. He seemed to notice something else though.

"Do you also know what will happen in the future?" I looked away.

"Yes, but... I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because no one should know too much of their future. It might mess things up. I do **not** want to be responsible for messing up your timeline any more than I already am by being here. And if I mess something up, then that'll lead to a different reality I know nothing of, and could make things worse." I said. He nodded.

"...It was Dahlia, right?" My heart skipped a beat as he said my name.

"What?"

"Your name."

"O-oh, yeah. It is."

"Any warnings before I go?"

"Just prepare for the hordes of Covenant. For the rest of today. Tomorrow. The whole war, actually." Chief simply stared at me.

"The game doesn't show me exactly how much rest you get, so it's just non-stop mission after mission, okay?" He nodded once again in understandment. He turned to walk away, but I grabbed onto his arm; the armor surprisingly cold. He looked over his shoulder to face me.

"Does this mean, I can come with you..? I've only ever been able to play in your perspective, and I-"

"As long as you know what you're doing, and don't get hurt." I smiled and hugged him out of habit when my friends accepted my barters.

"Thank you! Thank you thank you thank-" I beamed, but instantly let go of Chief as he tensed and jumped from surprise. I rubbed the back of my neck, avoiding any eye contact. I was sufficiently embarrassed when I realized I hugged _the_ Master Chief, even if it only had last for less than a second; leaving me to wonder if he knows such feelings.

Master Chief made his way down the stairs, and stocked up on ammunition. I followed after, pondering if I should even bother grabbing a weapon if I was terrible at shooting, and couldn't handle the recoil. I knew I was being watched, but somehow my body knew to look at Chief.

He waited for me to choose my weapon.

I stared at the weapons rack in front of me, recognizing the few that were left.

Although SMGs were cool, I always preferred ranged weapons, so I grabbed a battle rifle, and one grenade. Once I had chosen my means of protection, the marines lead us to the perimeter. I heard them talk, saying that the bunker was built during the 20th-century, but the technology of the doors seemed way too high-tech to be built in the 1900's. Then again, I came from an entirely different universe. The universe of Halo always seemed to be more intelligent anyway.

We reach the hallway, Chief opening the door. In front of us is a warthog, but I quickly hid behind the armored-door as it explodes. Chief doesn't even so much as flinch once it explodes. He fires at the grunts ahead, and leaves my field of vision. I try to look for him through the crack of the door, but I yelp as a fusion coil goes off, followed by the squacks of jackels. I get back on my feet, this time spotting Chief further down the road, shooting inside another hallway, with the help of a few marines.

I run over to him, taking cover behind a large crate. I try my best to shoot with the battle rifle, but I still lacked skill. I set it on the ground, next to me, as I spot a plasma pistol in front of me. I crawl to grab it, and turned it on, just like the way I always saw John turn them on whenever I grabbed them in-game. The weapon began to glow in my hand as I pressed the button. I pressed the red button on the side, knowing that it'd open the top part of the gun. I was amazed by the glowing plasma inside the tiny compartment; I closed it. I thought for a moment, and aimed at the wall. The plasma pistol was surprisingly heavy, forcing me to place my hand underneath it to support its weight.

It made that familiar high-pitched plasma sound as I shot the wall. I felt shivers go down my spine as I satisfied my inner child.

"I have to do that with every single weapon now." I promised to myself. I set down the pistol, taking back my battle rifle. I noticed that the echoes of battle disappeared; had they already gone to the hangar?

I jogged down the hall, turned left, then right. I could her explosions, screams, and gunshots, from both Human and Covenant. I peered through the doorway, wondering if the stairs were clear.

Without a radar like I was used to, I couldn't be entirely sure.

 _'Screw it.'_ I thought.

I ran up the stairs, only to encounter a grunt on my way. I screamed, and so did the grunt. I kicked and hit him with the butt of the gun, until it fell off the stairs. I looked over the edge, only to see it running away from marines. I continued my way up into the Control Room.

From here, I could see Master Chief making use of the machine gun in the hangar. After he gunned down the phantom's main firepower, causing it to leave when he killed the rest of the canon fodder on the ground.

A third one came in, and John shot at it as it came closer. When the phantom noticed where the line of fire came from, it began to shoot at his location. Before any of the plasma shots could land, he let go of the turret, and took cover. When it stopped shooting, John resumed fire.

Once the hangar was clear, the pelican was finally able to leave. John hopped down from his spot, and took a deployable shield from the ground. I decided to leave my spot too, going down the stairs.

We double-timed it back to the ops center, the bunk shaking, marines no longer with us. I felt the need to spark up a conversation, as John had curiosity.

"Just how much do you know?" He wondered.

"Almost everything. I can assume humanity's past is about the same, but I know mainly of Human-Covenant War." I articulated. "But to be frank, I know how you're tied up in all of this. I know _everything_ about you."

John slowed his jogging pace, until he completely stopped. He turned, his helmet facing down at me.

"Everything?"

"Yes." I confirmed.

"My name?"

"John."

"My ranking?"

"Master Chief Petty Officer Class III. The highest achievable ranking, I believe."

"My armor?"

"Mark VI Mjolnir Armor, specifically named after the Norse God Thor's hammer."

He took two steps closer, now four feet away from me. "Spartan II Program?" He asked warily.

"Children 'chosen' by Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, at the age of six." I began.

"You trained arduously nearly every single day. At the age of eight, you and your class of spartans executed a mission ordered by Chief Petty Officer Mendez and became squad leader after completing it, even if everyone made it home, when there was supposed to be one child left behind. Of course, you had been assisted by Deja." I grinned, but slightly worried over the next topic.

"At the age of fourteen, you all underwent augmentations, and only 33 of you survived, out of 75." I grimaced at having to remind John of that event.

"After that, you had the body of an 18-year-old Olympic athlete. You effortlessly took out four ODSTs, without even meaning to. On your first mission with the Mjolnir armor, your team, Green Team, had to take out a Covenant ship. You suffered only one casualty: Sam. He stayed behind, as his armor had been breached; he wouldn't have made it out there alive, the tear had been too great to instantly fix." I furrowed my brows, feeling sympathy.

"When you received Cortana, your first experience with her was a test made by ONI, which they intended you to fail. You nearly-" John placed his gloved hand on my mouth to shut me up. I backed away, disgusted, knowing he's been in that suit of armor since Halo 2.

"Ew, John, that's gross, you've killed the flood in that-" He attempted to shut me up again.

"John?" His head bobbed down as he quoted me.

"What? Is it a sign of disrespect to call you by your first name?" I questioned, pushing his hand away from my face.

I wondered why it bothered him so much, but then it dawned on me.

"Dr. Halsey always calls you John. She always did. Does it bother you if I do too..?" I asked shyly, slightly afraid.

Before he could even answer, we were interrupted by Miranda's voice on the intercoms. This returned Chief to his objective. We continued jogging, back to where I mused with the plasma pistol. I heard the sounds of drones above me in the ventilation pipes, scaring me. I've always had a phobia of bugs, and these things were like 50 times stronger than a normal human, and about the size of one. If these things can pick up a buff marine, with his gear and all without breaking a sweat, they will surely rip me apart like a twig.

Before stepping inside the cave, I warned John. "One of the drones are going to pick up the guy that's behind the cage-wall thing. Shoot it down."

"Sir. This way." Said the marine in front of us. John aimed his gun just as the pipes behind the poor fellow fall down, a swarm of drones fluttering everywhere. One of them suddenly flies above the marine, and picks him up. He begins to yell for help as he's picked up. Before the drone could fly any higher, the Chief shot it down.

He walked forward, the drones falling by the second.

I stayed behind, unwilling to face the terrifying aliens. As Chief used strategy to eliminate them without them flying out of the pipe, I aimed the battle rifle, trying to catch at least one enemy in my line of sight. But I didn't get a chance to, since they have all already been wiped out. I sighed, leaving my hiding spot behind the door.

I spotted the living legend himself gathering ammunition, throwing his brute shot to the side as he replaced it with battle rifle.

Back upstairs, we see a huge bomb in the center. Miranda is on screen, advising Johnson to put out his cigarette.

"Chief, have a look. A little going away gift for the Covenant. We've linked it to smaller charges throughout the base. Johnson, as soon as the evacuation is complete, start the timer."

"Understood." Johnson replied.

"Good luck everyone. See you on the last pelican out." She then disconnected.

"Follow me Chief." Johnson directed us to the dreaded barracks. If I truly left Halo 3 on Legendary, I was sure to die. "Brutes have taken the barracks. Marines are trapped inside. Those apes ain't much for mercy, Chief. We both know what they do to them." I cringed at the thought of it. John walked over to the door, pushing the button to unlock it.

"Get to the barracks, save those men. Then escort them to the Landing Pad for evac." He nodded in acknowledgment, then walked down.

 _'Wait. Does he expect me to go with him?'_

I slowly went after him, nervous. But before I could even see what was going on, I heard two plasma grenades go off, then one spike grenade. The sound of the brute spiker resounded in the barracks, along with an assault rifle.

Midst the chaos, I dove for the barricade in front of the entrance. In doing so, I scraped my knee, making me wince and growl from the pain. I sat there for a few seconds, waiting for the pain to wash over. I heard something heavy fall, and knew Chief was working on clearing the place. I moved slowly, checking up on said hero: I saw a line of fire coming from the right side, bullets piercing a brute in his chest.

The power armor weakened, and popped off the ape's chest, clattering onto the ground. The brute howled at the Chief, taunting him; but then quickly fell down, blood pooling under the perished body.

I sat down before a brute could spot me. I wished desperately to help eliminate enemies, but I wasn't the Arbiter, a Spartan, or even a trained soldier. I placed my battle rifle on my lap, and began to admire the details. I picked it up, and looked through the scope, recalling a time when I was but a child, playing the sandbox map with my brother, who had been my current age. 'Stop screen picking!' he would tell me, but I would laugh as I chased him down.

I felt strange, as I stopped zoning out. What had brought me back to reality?

I saw something wet land on the pavement, and I stiffened when I had heard heavy breathing behind me. I was too shocked to move, or to scream for help. I was also completely trapped; the only way to escape it would be to run around the barricade, but I was confident it would catch me. I would have to risk interrupting John. I took a deep breath in, and screamed.

"John! Help!"

... Is what I thought had been yelled. Of course, with such fear coursing through my veins, all that came out had been a whisper. The brute cackled at me, "Worthless human!"

The brute grabbed the barricade separating us, and threw it aside violently. I flinched, hearing it collide against the wall. I willed my body to turn to look at the ape up-close. As I turned, I noticed a hole in the walls leading into the little sections that hid the ammo caches, and truck.

Without warning, I dashed to the left, hoping through the opening. The brute snarled, and tried to follow me through it, but he was just too big. I laughed, and snatched a gravity lift from under the truck.

Suddenly, as I searched the device for a way to turn it on, the brute threw crates off of the truck's trailer, howling. Frightened, and without a weapon, I threw the lift at the brute, hitting him in the face. The lift fell to the ground, and activated. Another victory for me, but another way of pissing him off.

Before he could do anything else, think anything else, his power armor fell apart, and was killed with a head shot. I looked back to my savior, standing tall, and confident. I noticed something glowing near his feet; it was the brute chieftain hammer. Like a child, I ogled it, and jogged to Chief. I tried to pick it up, but without success. Even though ODSTs were able to, it was certainly done for sake of game play. I kicked it, slightly angry that I couldn't use it.

Chief chuckled, sensing my frustration. I furrowed my brows at him.

"That thing weighs like 343 lbs! There's no way I can pick it up." I walked down the road to retrieve my battle rifle.

Walking into the hallway, towards the marines, I remembered the jumps Master Chief makes. And he had to fall down at least three times. In the middle of the hallway, I stop him. He looks down at me in a questioning manner.

"The moment you walk to the end of the hall, a drone is going to pop up." I warned him. He looked behind me, raising his gun. He walked cautiously, and the drone came, shooting with its plasma pistol.

"Chief, wait!" I caught his attention after he killed the drone. "You certainly can survive that jump, but if I go down, I'm going to break my legs." He thinks for a moment, then grabs me, wrapping his arm around my waist. I was uncomfortably close to him, but I didn't mind that much.

"What are you doing-" I yelp the rest of the sentence as he jumps down. He lands, slightly crouched. He doesn't let go, even if I try to loosen his grip. I realized he was having a "Cortana Moment".

After five seconds, he releases me. He stared at me, asking, "Do you know about... What I see?"

I nodded. "Cortana is speaking to you telepathically." We both glanced down the corridor, hearing noises coming from pipe entrances. I search for cover, but see that I will have to fend for myself.

After all commuting drones are dead, we proceed. He sees the deep vertical shaft, and picks me up once I'm at his side. We see the Arbiter shooting at some drones, telling them, "Half-wit insects! The Prophets use you like they used me! Reject their lies! Rebel, or _all_ your hives will perish!"

"How many more jumps am I going to have to carry you for?" Chief suddenly wondered.

"This is the last one. I promise." I smiled sheepishly.

* * *

"That did it Chief! Bomb's armed."

"We got your exit! A service elevator in the hangar. Head downstairs, cut through the caves!" I heard Johnson order. Chief had allowed it to play outside his helmet for me to hear, which I thought was nice.

The alarm had gone off as soon as John armed the bomb, nearby lights flashing red. We ran downstairs, cutting through the caves just as Johnson said. Whatever Covenant that weren't fleeing, and felt cocky, were mowed down by bullets. Getting to the hangar, many of the grunts were putting up a fight. John was the one mainly killing everything, while I barely shot one or two enemies. While I knew the mission had no time limit in-game, I felt frantic hearing Johnson telling us to leave.

The area now free of Covenant, we finally made it to the elevator. I walked in, and fell to my knees. I had not ran that much since, ever. I was a panting, sweaty mess. My throat felt dry, my body tired. My eyes wandered, and saw the Chief's hand press the button. With what little energy I could muster, I stood up, and sat down on the opposite side of the elevator, away from the flames that would come. The elevator struggled for a moment, then I felt it go down. The fire from the explosion seeped through the bottom of the doors, making me sweat even more.

The further down, the more flames. I threw my arms over my head, a weak attempt to shield myself from the heat. In the darkness, I couldn't see that my arms weren't the only things keeping me safe from the oncoming inferno.

* * *

 _"This place will become your tomb."_


	4. Chapter Three: Catching Up

I groaned, sitting up. Chief was right in front of me, turning on the lights on his helmet.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw more bright lights coming from within the room.

Remembering the events that happened before I awoke, I searched my person to see if I had any burn marks. Surprisingly, my outfit remained tattered and torn only from my recklessness from before. I did have some soot though.

I climbed onto my knees, standing up. From the circle of lights in front of me, one of them walked forward. I was soon able to make out the figure of a marine, and sure enough, he was speaking to the Chief. As everyone soon walked away, I barely had time to gather my battle rifle.

"You can walk, set our boots on the line." I heard someone say. It was pitch black now, with all the lights from the marine's gone. I struggled to find the doorway, hardly remembering the way to leave the cave. My hands patted against the walls, until I found an opening, in which I almost fell.

Finding my footing, I entered through the doorway, and saw Chief climbing into the driver's seat of one of the warthogs. He looked around, and once he found me, signalled me over. I grinned, jogging over to him.

"Chief's got the right idea. Let's mount up, get the Hell outta these caves." A marine commanded. As he said that, Chief started up the hog, and gave me his hand to climb inside.

Grunting as I fell in, I tried to sit down normally, which just didn't work. I pouted as I couldn't see well, until I remembered how marines an ODSTs usually sat. I put one leg against the dashboard, and the other against my seat. Now, I was in the proper position to shoot. I heard footsteps behind me, and I turned to see one of the marines mounting up onto the warthog to man the gun. Now ready, Chief drove up to the door, which was still closed.

"I'll get the door sir." A man offered.

I felt anxiety in my chest, excited yet scared of the battle that was to come. I started to wonder why I was even here, in the seat next to my favorite spartan, if I could barely even shoot? In a warthog, with humanity's savior no less, as if I could help protect helpless citizens, when I was just as weak as those the soldiers fought for. I wasn't like Cortana either, even if I knew what was to come, simply because I was a nerd. John probably doesn't enjoy my presence, because I wasn't his best friend, like the A.I. was. I know what he thinks of civilians, I know that he sees them more of a chore to have to protect. Was that all I was to him?

My vision began to grow blurry because of all the self-deprecating thoughts, and a squawk from a Jackal came ahead of us before I could rub my eyes.

I gasped as Chief ran straight through the horde, cries of pain coming from below us, as I heard the cracking of their cartilage and bones. I cringed, knowing what we had done to them.

Out in the daylight, I squinted so hard, I thought I'd hurt my eyes. I could hardly see what was happening when the sound of the machine gun went off. Once I was able to open them, I saw the wreckage of the Mombasa Tether all around me. Large pieces of dark steel reflected the sunlight, causing me to wince again. A huge rind had landed outside the base, pieces of the wiring hanging off, steel poking out of the structure, making me think of how gruesome it'd be to accidentally stab yourself through it.

But my ogling was cut short when Covenant began to shoot at us. I yelped as alien bullets whizzed by, singing the seats and the interior of the warthog, other shots leaving spikes as permanent additions of 'decor'. I ducked, covering myself with my arms as we were blasted by plasma shots from a phantom, and the scattered turrets. I couldn't help but scream at every shot that landed too close, or when a grenade exploded nearby.

John skidded the warthog to a stop when we reached the highway that had been blocked off. We were greeted by the sight of an ongoing battle; a burnt warthog on its side, marines huddled together, staying out of sight of the enemies. John jumped out of the hog, and so did I.

"You stay here, all right? The marines and I are going to take these guys out, just stay here." He reloaded his weapon, preparing for the fight.

"John, wait! There'll be drones coming out of the highway, be careful." He nodded, and joined the rest of the soldiers.

I sat against the warthog, looking up towards the sky.

'At some point, the day has to end, right?' I wondered. The sky was a cerulean blue, with fluffy white clouds appearing here and there, the sun high in the sky. My muscles ached, and the soles of my feet felt like I had been walking through Hell itself. I couldn't remember when was the last time I had something to drink, or eat. I also noticed just how tired I felt, and it was unbelievable. I only wanted to lay down on the dry grass, even if it felt uncomfortable just sitting on it. The gunshots still continued, and I could just hear the soundtrack playing in my head. I closed my eyes, and imagined as if I were listening to the music itself.

* * *

After narrowly escaping death from the drones, the deafening screech of the Sangheili ship fly over us, four wraiths, and an armored plasma turret, we had made it to the final checkpoint, on the Tsavo Highway. I thought I had felt exhausted before, but I was dead wrong. I heard the cry of a brute, and turned to see Chief had just finished killing the brute war chieftain with its own plasma cannon.

"A little too much, don't you think?" I asked him, chuckling.

"It was getting on my nerves." He deadpanned, throwing the turret to the side as if it were nothing. It made me laugh even more. He walked toward me, then past me. A pelican had arrived, but only for a few minutes to leave us warthogs and reinforcements. John had allowed the audio to play aloud once more, to let me hear Lord Hood monologue. He stood at a cliff's edge, overlooking the ship we had seen earlier.

"...One final effort is all that remains." He finished. Chief walked away from the edge, readying his rifle as he headed to the line of warthogs.

Realizing we still had a couple missions let before we could rest, I threw my head back and groaned, tired of our campaign. Unfortunately, Chief heard me and looked back to me in a questioning away.

"We still have another mission to do, which involves taking down a scarab." I moaned.

"Then we'll be ready for it. We just need to take down the anti-aircraft defenses." He hopped into the passenger seat of one of the hogs.

"Yeah, but it's more than you think." I said, mostly to myself. I soon followed after him. I saw that being close to him, meant having to aim the turret on the warthog. The thought of it made me extremely nervous, but knowing that we would only be driving and there'd only be action once we reached the first door, I decided to mount up.

After I got on, the driver followed the rest of the hogs down the road, further into Voi. There was only sound of wind, tires, and the distant thunder. I sighed, thinking back to all of the times I desperately wished to be apart of Halo, but began to wonder if it was worth being here.

"You've been really quiet recently." Chief commented. I was surprised to hear his voice.

"You know, being inside a fictional, intelligent universe is a lot to take in." I responded.

"I would think you'd have more to say about it."

"I would but I remember _some_ things you've said in the novel series." I aimed the turret away from him, biting my lip.

"And what did I say?"

" _Things_." I elaborated.

We reached the end of the line, where Chief would have to manually activate all of the doors to allow the warthogs to pass through. Nearly everyone exited out of their hogs, ready for the fight not too far from us. Chief went ahead and pressed the button to open the first door.

As soon as I was next to him, he asked, "Why won't you tell me?"

I looked up at him, furrowing my brows. "Because sometimes a spartan would rather work with other spartans than having to protect their marines." I walked away briskly after I said that, going for the stairs ahead of me. He quickly followed me.

"And you trust words from a stranger more than myself?" He questioned, climbing up the stairs alongside me.

"Well, they're what made you you." I looked at him.

"But not everything is the same." He reached the top of the stairs, and stopped to glance back to me.

"Then should I be so sure of the events to come?" I wondered.

"We'll see." He turned away. I stared after him, and watched as he pressed the second button. As the doors opened, the Covenant began to shoot. He reacted immediately, taking cover behind the wall and firing back. I longed to defend and help out, but I knew there was a greater chance of getting myself killed.

I exhaled, and watched the fight unfold before me.


End file.
